Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?

Summary: The migratory culling hypothesis posits that infected individuals are less likely to survive long-distance migration due to physiological and behavioral effects, but this lacks empirical evidence. Here, we tested this hypothesis by sampling 357 passerines from 11 species during their autumn...

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Main Authors: Laura Gangoso, Claudia Santamaría-Cervantes, Josué Martínez-de la Puente, María José Ruiz López, Jordi Figuerola
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224025835
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author Laura Gangoso
Claudia Santamaría-Cervantes
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
María José Ruiz López
Jordi Figuerola
author_facet Laura Gangoso
Claudia Santamaría-Cervantes
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
María José Ruiz López
Jordi Figuerola
author_sort Laura Gangoso
collection DOAJ
description Summary: The migratory culling hypothesis posits that infected individuals are less likely to survive long-distance migration due to physiological and behavioral effects, but this lacks empirical evidence. Here, we tested this hypothesis by sampling 357 passerines from 11 species during their autumn migration to wintering grounds in two different areas, i) at a stopover in southern Spain, and ii) in the Canary Islands, where they were drifted and preyed upon by Eleonora’s falcons while en route to the southern Sahara. Molecular detection of infections by Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was conducted on bird samples. A higher prevalence of both Plasmodium and Haemoproteus was observed in birds preyed upon by falcons. While a complete understanding of the mechanistic effects of haemosporidian infections on migration performance needs experimental validation, our approach suggests that infection reduces migration success by increasing mortality due to route deviations and/or predation.
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series iScience
spelling doaj-art-21f259f4a75d42e9b3679a94955cfc1b2025-08-20T02:35:03ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422024-12-01271211135810.1016/j.isci.2024.111358Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?Laura Gangoso0Claudia Santamaría-Cervantes1Josué Martínez-de la Puente2María José Ruiz López3Jordi Figuerola4Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Corresponding authorInstituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC) CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ciudad Real, SpainEstación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain; Ciber de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid, SpainEstación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain; Ciber de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid, SpainEstación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain; Ciber de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid, SpainSummary: The migratory culling hypothesis posits that infected individuals are less likely to survive long-distance migration due to physiological and behavioral effects, but this lacks empirical evidence. Here, we tested this hypothesis by sampling 357 passerines from 11 species during their autumn migration to wintering grounds in two different areas, i) at a stopover in southern Spain, and ii) in the Canary Islands, where they were drifted and preyed upon by Eleonora’s falcons while en route to the southern Sahara. Molecular detection of infections by Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was conducted on bird samples. A higher prevalence of both Plasmodium and Haemoproteus was observed in birds preyed upon by falcons. While a complete understanding of the mechanistic effects of haemosporidian infections on migration performance needs experimental validation, our approach suggests that infection reduces migration success by increasing mortality due to route deviations and/or predation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224025835Wildlife microbiologyEcologyOrnithologyEvolutionary biology
spellingShingle Laura Gangoso
Claudia Santamaría-Cervantes
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
María José Ruiz López
Jordi Figuerola
Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
iScience
Wildlife microbiology
Ecology
Ornithology
Evolutionary biology
title Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
title_full Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
title_fullStr Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
title_full_unstemmed Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
title_short Does malaria infection increase the risk of predation-related mortality during bird migration?
title_sort does malaria infection increase the risk of predation related mortality during bird migration
topic Wildlife microbiology
Ecology
Ornithology
Evolutionary biology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224025835
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